Stakeholders have suggested to the government to reduce GNPC share of the oil revenue and channel part of the allocation to other sectors of the economy to support human and infrastructural, development.

At a stakeholders meeting organized by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) in Kwabre and Bekwai in the Ashanti Region, the participants requested the government to reduce the annual take of GNPC and channel those portions into agricultural infrastructural and educational development . The Chief of Asante Bekwai, Nana Kumi Acheampong, wondered what GNPC has been doing with all the money allocated for its operations. He said sponsoring the Black stars and other sporting events is not the interest to Ghanaians. “You can’t be sponsoring sporting events when there are no hospitals in our districts to cater for the poor in society,” he stated.

Dominic Amankwa, an official of the local government at the Bekwai District in his view indicated that GNPC should be allowed to source for its own funding to undertake its priority projects like what other oil companies like Tullow, Kosmos , Anardarko are doing. “In the case of GNPC the money is used and not paid back to government. This can be described as a financial loss and stop depend,” he stated.

The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) was allocated US$534.77million for the 2017 financial year, to undertake exploratory activities. The state-owned petroleum exploration, licensing, and distribution company is expected to finance its budget with inflows from Jubilee, 110.82million; US$ 172.90million from TEN; and US$22million from Sankofa Gye-Nyame Fields.

Additional source of income would include US$4.13million as training and technology grant and US$14.44million as miscellaneous sources from rentals, interest on short-term investment and services to exploration companies.

However, the approved amount is US$210.49m short of what the state-owned petroleum exploration, licensing, and distribution company needs for 2017. GNPC officials informed the Committee that “The funding gap is being financed by cash balance of US$68.03m brought forward from 2016 and US$95m GNPC’s cash collateral with Stanbic bank .

Samuel Bekwin, Executive Director of Ghana Oil and Gas for Inclusive Growth (GOGIG) said there has been talks in the past of cutting the budget of GNPC. “Our problem is we have not been able to state when government will stop funding the GNPC. Government must decide that after a certain period of funding of GNPC will stop and that it should find its own money.” this will give them the stability to develop their own budget and independently manage their operations,” he added.

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